Following a snowstorm and icy weather that closed the South Africa highway N3 at Van Reenen’s pass over the weekend, the road has been reopened today. This closure affected the link between Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.
The snowstorm led to the blockade of many roads including the N3 Toll Route. The government has made it clear that such affected routes including those in Gauteng, Free State, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape even ANTs are now are now open to traffic.
For now, the vehicles are on the flow except that drivers should be warned to drive only in the day. The general trend has always been daytime travel and it is always the safer option. “We urge and remind road users to be an officer of the day and come up with plans on what will be done and on how each of them will go about any activity that involves a journey,” said N3TC CEO Thania Dhoogra, whom Times Live cites.
The snowstorm brought not only heavy snow but strong winds and blizzard conditions, black ice and poor visibility, which is why the local disaster management teams were active on Saturday. Humanitarian efforts offered the needed disaster relief to impacted areas. The heavy snow left many motorists stuck in their cars and other vehicles for several hours.
The N3 Toll Concession (N3TC) announced the reopening of the route. “N3TC is pleased to inform road users, that following this weekend’s severe snowfalls which caused obvious traffic disruptions and had road users stranded for almost two days between, Tugela Plaza and Harrismith, mobility within the N3 toll route is now fully restored. The large volume of residual traffic that had built up between KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State is now gone,” said N3TC, as quoted by Times Live.
“Government thanks all citizens, emergency services, government entities, humanitarian organisations, and other stakeholders for their contribution towards this effort during this period,” was GCIS’s brief on the announcement made by the Government on Board.
Also the GCIS advised citizens to listen to local radio stations and follow the government’s social networks to obtain further developments.
“Appreciating your support, South Africa! Thank you once again and we stress that road safety remains each one of us’s concern,” said the department.
A 39-year-old woman died on Saturday while trapped in the storm at Van Reenen’s pass.
